Mousa Dembele has been ruled out of Tottenham's north London derby against Arsenal on Saturday.

Dembele has become a key player for Spurs since his deadline day move from Fulham, but he has missed the club's last eight games with a niggling hip problem.

The Belgian had hoped to return for Saturday's crunch match at the Emirates Stadium, but manager Andre Villas-Boas has ruled the playmaker out of the game. "Dembele does not have a chance, not for this game," Villas-Boas said.

He added: "There is a 50% chance he will be back for the Lazio game. I think surgery at the moment is out of the question, hopefully."